Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[dheltzel]

Check where she sleeps tonight. If she's back on the nest, trust her to continue brooding. They can be off for quite and while and still hatch very well. Hens have an instinct about this.

 

[chippysmom327]

About the Fayette County Fairgrounds/Uniontown swap, I thought it was the 12th of April? The 20th is Easter Sunday. Why would people show up ya know?

ETA: Just looked and The Spring Show and BST (buy sell trade) are on April 13th.

 

[GR Chicks]

Ok my fellow PAers.....I have been reading a ton of threads on fermented feed. (I will now need to get glasses as it has destroyed my vision... lol... been reading so long my vision is blurry). I am wondering your thoughts on this. I know some of you offer this to your chickens, and I would like to try it, but wasn't sure which advice to follow. It seems strange, but I don't know the others who post on those threads, NOT THAT I REALLY KNOW ANY OF YOU, but I feel like I can trust my fellow PAers. So if you have a link or info or opinion you would like to share I would appreciate it.


My mother just stopped by, and asked what this site was I was on,.....I said the best way I can explain it is its like "Chicken Facebook".... she is laughing hysterically.

 

[jmayday]

Look what I did today
Buried the block and put hardware cloth on run. Then I decided to paint my new coop.

Them let the chicks out for fresh air

 

[Avlana]

Look what I did today
Buried the block and put hardware cloth on run. Then I decided to paint my new coop.

Them let the chicks out for fresh air

Nice! I see flowers too! I had my small flock of Cornish Xs out today as well.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Ok my fellow PAers.....I have been reading a ton of threads on fermented feed.  (I will now need to get glasses as it has destroyed my vision... lol... been reading so long my vision is blurry).  I am wondering your thoughts on this.  I know some of you offer this to your chickens, and I would like to try it, but wasn't sure which advice to follow.  It seems strange, but I don't know the others who post on those threads, NOT THAT I REALLY KNOW ANY OF YOU, but I feel like I can trust my fellow PAers.  So if you have a link or info or opinion you would like to share I would appreciate it.


My mother just stopped by, and asked what this site was I was on,.....I said the best way I can explain it is its like "Chicken Facebook".... she is laughing hysterically.

I'm new to fermented feed too and I'm not sure if I'm doing it right or not but my chicks seem to love it. I was putting a half a cup of feed in a Mason jar and covering it with 1 inch of water, putting the lid on and letting it set for three days before I feed it to them. Each day I start a new jar so it's like a 3 day rotation. I've actually had to bump up to a full cup of feed though as they're devouring their half a cup by noon now lol. Here's the Website I used to get myself started. It's simple and seems to work out good
http://ohlardy.com/fermented-chicken-feed

 

[LisaYolkUm]

I will be improving on my run and building a better coop at the end of April.....................

I am wondering about the run.............I see signs of diggers trying to get under..............some of these diggers I think are chipmunks ....................or a rodent of some type.

they have made tunnels under.

I feel my chickens have been safe in the daytime and this intrusion occurs at night.

I see you buried the block in your pictures..............will this be sufficient? I imagine if a digger tries to go under the weight of the bllock will impact the tunnel and perhaps a longer distance is needed to go under..........

I see some people put a wire mesh apron on their runs..................

and some people dig their mesh down a distance...........

What do you all think is best............buried block, an apron , or a straight down depth of wire?

Its a lot of work to do this so I want to pick a good technique and hopefully this years improvements will be durable and last a while.

 

[GR Chicks]

I'm new to fermented feed too and I'm not sure if I'm doing it right or not but my chicks seem to love it. I was putting a half a cup of feed in a Mason jar and covering it with 1 inch of water, putting the lid on and letting it set for three days before I feed it to them. Each day I start a new jar so it's like a 3 day rotation. I've actually had to bump up to a full cup of feed though as they're devouring their half a cup by noon now lol. Here's the Website I used to get myself started. It's simple and seems to work out good

http://ohlardy.com/fermented-chicken-feed

Thanks ...I checked out the sight. Are you using unfiltered apple cider vinegar? Most of the threads I've read say that without it it really isn't fermented, just wet. I guess you need it for the chemical change that occurs to increase the yeast content. (Like making wine is more than water and grapes.). Not sure, that's why I'm asking the PA "pros"

hoping to get clarification.

 

[GR Chicks]

Look what I did today
Buried the block and put hardware cloth on run. Then I decided to paint my new coop.

Them let the chicks out for fresh air

Very nice. I spent all day Saturday cleaning out the coop from top to bottom. It's a great feeling when I get things freshened up after winter.

 

[chiques chicks]

Ok my fellow PAers.....I have been reading a ton of threads on fermented feed.  (I will now need to get glasses as it has destroyed my vision... lol... been reading so long my vision is blurry).  I am wondering your thoughts on this.  I know some of you offer this to your chickens, and I would like to try it, but wasn't sure which advice to follow.  It seems strange, but I don't know the others who post on those threads, NOT THAT I REALLY KNOW ANY OF YOU, but I feel like I can trust my fellow PAers.  So if you have a link or info or opinion you would like to share I would appreciate it.


My mother just stopped by, and asked what this site was I was on,.....I said the best way I can explain it is its like "Chicken Facebook".... she is laughing hysterically.

I have a five gallon bucket. I started with water, unfiltered apple cider (maybe a cup? I just dumped some in), maybe some year of some sort if I have any around. Added some feed and scratch and stirred it around until it looked like thick soup. Cover but didn't seal ( move like it).
Every day I scoop out what I need, maybe 2/3 of it, to feed and add more wate, stir it up, add more feed and scratch, repeat every day.
I try to get a thick mash, like a loaf so I don't have to drain it.
I some the old stuff starts off the new I add every day.

I have no idea if this is the right way, but my birds wait for it and they have free choice of dry feed at all times.